HOUSTON, June 3, 2015—Jessica Lewis McFate, Research Director at the Institute for the Study of War, joined Asia Society Texas Center to address the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) and its implications for Asia. The Middle East and North Africa faces an overt threat which will undoubtedly affect the rest of the world, and in Ms. McFate’s words, “There is no end to ISIS establishing the Caliphate until they either achieve it or are destroyed as an entity.” She noted that their ISIS functions with a strong arm and overt tactics in their local environment, but uses more soft power and subtle tactics in winning new strongholds in other regions. While there is a strong possibility that ISIS may gain a foothold in Southeast Asia, this, as in the U.S., still has yet to happen in a substantive way. (1 hr., 10 min.)